"The State of Israel ... will ensure complete equality of social and political
rights of all its inhabitants irrespective of religion ... it will guarantee freedom
of religion and conscience." - May 1948)

Quote

"The State of Israel is not a halachic state but rather is a nation-state of all the Jewish people. Many Jews are becoming alienated because they feel that the State of Israel does not respect the way they practice Judaism.”

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At a Knesset hearing, Hiddush presented a recent public opinion survey measuring the extent of support among Israeli Jews for public transportation on Shabbat. According to the findings, 73% of the Jewish public supports partial or full availability of public transportation on Shabbat.

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50% of the Jewish Israeli public prefers non-Orthodox marriage. A growing majority of the Jewish public is fed up with and rejects the Israeli government's position and wants Israel to join all other Western democracies in establishing marriage freedom.

These Hiddush survey findings prove how far the government has swerved away from the public will and the needs of the State of Israel. Instead, the government leaders
act as puppets whose strings are being pulled by the anti-Zionist, ultra-Orthodox political parties.

Following Hiddush's demands: the IDF regulations regarding the burial of fallen soldiers have been changed. It is now possible to hold a military funeral without religious contents in a military cemetery and - secular military funerals in civil cemeteries.

55% of the Jewish Israeli public and 81% of the secular Jewish Israeli public are interested in alternative marriages outside the auspices of Israel's Chief Rabbinate. This is the first time that a majority of the Jewish Israeli public has expressed a personal preference for marriages outside the Chief Rabbinate.

73% of the Jewish public in Israel supports the High Court of Justice's ruling, which approved the Tel Aviv municipal ordinance concerning the operation of business on Shabbat. This includes 97% of secular Israeli Jews, 72% of Tel Aviv residents, and most of the voters for the civil Government Coalition parties.

79% of the Israeli Jewish public maintains that Declaration of Independence's promise of freedom of religion and conscience has not yet been fully realized in Israel. 76% support the full realization of this promise.

This week Hiddush initiated stern communications to the authorities over two critical issues: 1) the gross breach of responsibility of the Ministry of Religious Services to provide an option for alternative civil burial, and 2) the exclusion of women from a medical conference about women’s health.

90% of the adult Jewish public is dissatisfied with the Israeli Rabbinical Courts' way of dealing with Agunot and women whose husbands refuse to grant them divorces. 87% believe that the rabbinical courts should force husbands to grant their wives divorces in cases of domestic violence. Measuring which institutions the public trusts most, 59% of respondents trust the Supreme Court, but only 16% most trust the Rabbinate, 13% - the Knesset and 12% - the Government!

Most of the Jewish Israeli public supports granting kashrut certification to restaurants that operate on Saturdays (Shabbat). The High Court once again finds itself dealing with the rotten fruits of Israeli politics, who give in over and over again to the religious parties' dictates, against the wishes of the majority of the Israeli public.

72% of Jewish Israelis and 76% of Arab Israelis support the statement that "every resident [of Israel] has the right to get married in Israel with whomever he chooses, in whatever way he chooses, and according to his beliefs."

With key governmental ministries controlled by the ultra-Orthodox and Zionist Orthodox parties, and with these elements in the Coalition dictating their wills to the Government even beyond the sphere of their ministerial portfolios, there is a growing need for legal advocacy work to challenge inequity and illegal practices (some new and some lingering). Hiddush has been stepping up its legal advocacy work in response to this need; the following are just a few examples: